1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to table gaming. In particular, the invention relates token counting.
2. Description of Related Art
Table games in casinos involve use of tokens or chips to replace real money for players to place bets. These tokens typically have a rounded shape, like a coin, with various colors designating the value of the token. In a typical table game (e.g., blackjack), the tokens are kept in tray on the table close to the dealer. A player places a bet by putting a number of tokens on his or her player area. When the cards are dealt and result of the game is completed, the dealer pays out or collects the tokens depending on whether the dealer loses or wins. If the dealer loses, he pays the winning player(s) by removing the tokens from the dealer""s tray and puts the tokens next to the player""s betting area. If the dealer wins, he collects the tokens from the losing player(s) and puts back in the dealer""s tray. In a typical playing session, the amount of tokens in the dealer""s tray may go up or down depending on the dealer""s winning/losing situations.
A casino or a gaming house needs to keep track of the amount of tokens continuously to avoid theft or loss. The current method is to assign a supervisor at each playing area. The supervisor, commonly referred to as the xe2x80x9cpit bossxe2x80x9d constantly monitors the dealers and the players. In addition, hidden video cameras covering the playing area provide visual monitoring by security personnel in the casino. To keep track of the amount of the tokens at each gaming table, the supervisor periodically requests a count of the current tokens. The tokens are then counted manually either by the dealer or another casino personnel at the presence of the dealer and the supervisor. Then, the count is recorded manually in a book so that at the end of the day or at some designated time, the total count is tallied so that the daily loss or win can be determined.
This manual counting has a number of drawbacks. First, the counting may not be accurate, resulting in incorrect recording. Second, the playing is interrupted, causing inconvenience and sometimes frustration to the players. Third, theft may still be possible if there is conspiracy among the dealer and the supervisor. Fourth, the counting is time consuming and therefore adds additional burden to the dealer and the supervisor.
Therefore, there is a need to have a technique that can overcome the above problems.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a technique is provided to count tokens on a gaming table. A sensor senses a characteristic of each token in a plurality of tokens in a token holder on the gaming table. The characteristic represents a valuation of each token. A token processing unit coupled to the sensor to process the sensed characteristic to determine a count of the plurality of tokens.